Friday, July 13, 2007

Fond Farewell

I shot this picture of bluebonnets years ago near Brady, Tx. Brady is very near the geographical center of the state and bills itself as 'the Heart of Texas.'I am publishing it as a tribute to one who was also part of the Heart of this state and our nation and who loved wildflowers.A couple of days ago, we lost a true Texas and national treasure, Claudia Taylor Johnson. She was known far and wide as Ladybird. She worked tirelessly for environmental as well as social causes. Her legacy includes many things that we now take for granted....wildflowers planted along highways and limited billboards to spoil our views. She was responsible for creating our beautiful park along Town Lake here in Austin as well as the National Wildflower Center that bears her name.She was 94 years old and had lived a full life. We will miss her physical presence but her memorial service will be more of a celebration of a life well lived than a mourning affair and that is how it should be.

Still, we grieve. We have lost Molly Ivins, Ann Richards and now Mrs. Johnson in the last few months. I still half way expect to see Molly or Ann around town every now and then. They both had a propensity to turn up where you weren't really expecting them to be.

We are fortunate to have had such strong women among us for so long. They will remain roll models for women everywhere.